01
Choose one
1 point
Which statement correctly distinguishes routing from forwarding in an IP network?
Free Practice Quiz Question List
Packets, Links, and Network Performance Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review Packets, Links, and Network Performance, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
Choose all
1 point
Which statements about link-layer frames are correct? Select all that apply.
- A
A frame normally contains an IP packet.
- B
A frame is unchanged from the source host to the destination host.
- C
A new frame appropriate for the next link is created at each router.
- D
A frame may include a link-layer trailer for error detection.
03
True or false
1 point
True or false: An application's successfully delivered throughput can be lower than the nominal bandwidth of the link it uses.
- A
True
- B
False
04
Written response
1 point
A packet is 8 megabits long and is sent over a 100-Mb/s link. What is its transmission delay? Enter the value in milliseconds. No rounding tolerance is allowed.
05
Fill in the blank
1 point
Complete the statements: A router temporarily stores packets in a when an outgoing link cannot transmit them immediately. The waiting packets form a .
06
Choose all
1 point
Which statements correctly compare circuit switching and packet switching? Select all that apply.
- A
Circuit switching reserves resources for a session.
- B
Packet switching reserves a dedicated end-to-end path in basic IP service.
- C
Packet switching is usually efficient for bursty computer traffic.
- D
Circuit switching always uses capacity efficiently during silence or inactivity.
07
Written response
1 point
Which protocol provides connectionless, best-effort delivery in the material? Enter its standard uppercase abbreviation.
08
True or false
1 point
True or false: Bufferbloat can create high latency even when a link appears fully utilized.
- A
True
- B
False
09
Choose one
1 point
A packet travels through several routers. What normally happens to its link-layer frame at each router?
- A
The transport segment is replaced, but the frame remains unchanged.
- B
The old frame is removed and the IP packet is placed in a new frame for the next link.
- C
The IP packet is converted directly into a physical signal without a frame.
- D
The application message is divided into a new set of messages at every router.
10
Choose one
1 point
Which option correctly distinguishes routing from forwarding in an IP network?
- A
Routing transmits bits on a physical medium, while forwarding creates application messages.
- B
Routing checks packet contents for errors, while forwarding retransmits lost packets.
- C
Routing determines paths and builds forwarding information, while forwarding sends an individual packet using that information.
- D
Routing reserves a circuit, while forwarding releases it after delivery.
11
Choose one
1 point
Which component of end-to-end delay is determined by packet length and link rate, rather than by the physical distance to the destination?
- A
The time to place all packet bits onto the link.
- B
The time for the signal to travel through the medium.
- C
The time spent examining headers and selecting an interface.
- D
The time spent waiting behind packets already in a queue.
12
Choose one
1 point
A router's average packet-arrival rate remains higher than the transmission rate of its outgoing link. What is the most likely long-term result?
- A
The queue must empty immediately because the link is busy.
- B
The queue remains fixed at one packet because buffers cannot grow.
- C
The outgoing link automatically increases its rate to match arrivals.
- D
The queue grows until the buffer is full, after which arriving packets may be discarded.
13
Choose one
1 point
Why is packet switching generally efficient for bursty computer traffic compared with a reserved circuit?
- A
It reserves capacity for each session, even during silence.
- B
It allows other flows to use capacity when one flow is idle.
- C
It guarantees a fixed end-to-end delay for every packet.
- D
It eliminates the need for endpoints to handle reliability.
14
True or false
1 point
True or false: UDP itself guarantees that datagrams arrive reliably, in order, and without duplicates.
- A
True
- B
False
15
Written response
1 point
An 8-megabit packet is sent over a 100-megabit-per-second link. Ignoring all other delays, what is the transmission delay in seconds? Enter the exact numerical value; no tolerance is allowed.
16
Written response
1 point
What is the name of the mechanism in which network devices mark packets to signal congestion before waiting for buffer overflow and packet loss? Enter the acronym or full term.
17
Choose one
1 point
A path contains links rated at 1 Gb/s, 500 Mb/s, and 100 Mb/s. Ignoring protocol overhead and competing traffic, which rate most strongly limits the path's long-term throughput?
- A
1 Gb/s, because it is the fastest link on the path.
- B
500 Mb/s, because it is the middle link rate.
- C
100 Mb/s, because it is the narrowest link on the path.
- D
The sum of all three link rates.
18
Choose one
1 point
A network link remains fully utilized, but packets experience very high delay because an oversized buffer retains them for a long time. What is this condition called?
- A
Bufferbloat
- B
Fast recovery
- C
Propagation delay
- D
Circuit reservation
19
Fill in the blank
1 point
A path has a rate of 1 Gb/s and a round-trip time of 40 milliseconds. Approximately how much data can be in transit on the path at once? Complete the statement: The bandwidth-delay product is about .
20
Open ended
1 point
A network designer is choosing between small and large packets for an application that needs both efficiency and responsive performance. Explain the main performance tradeoffs of the two choices and why neither size is always best.